New Zealand look to upset India

New Zealand are banking on a virgin track in Hyderabad to provide their first Test victory in India for 22 years, batsman Ross Taylor said.

Written by Agence-France Presse

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Hyderabad:

New Zealand are banking on a virgin track in Hyderabad to provide their first Test victory in India for 22 years, batsman Ross Taylor said on Wednesday.

The Black Caps have only ever won two Tests in India, the last being a 136-run triumph in Mumbai in 1988.

An impressive performance in the drawn opener in Ahmedabad has boosted New Zealand's confidence going into the second Test, which starts at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday.

The newly-built stadium is hosting its first-ever Test.

"We are excited by the way we batted and bowled in Ahmedabad," Taylor told reporters. "The wicket in Ahmedabad was not very helpful but we are expecting different pitch conditions here.

"It will probably have a little more bounce and take more turn. It does not seem to be as flat as it was in Ahmedabad and we are taking a lot of confidence from that."

Taylor, 26, said fast bowler Chris Martin will benefit from the conditions after he struggled to add to his sensational five-wicket haul on the last day of the Ahmedabad match.

"Martin picked those five wickets on a track which had nothing to offer to the bowlers. But the wicket here is fresh and should help him out. Hopefully, Martin will show the form he did in Ahmedabad.

"We've all had a close look at India's batsmen and bowlers, so we are going to attack them more this time and try and put them under a little bit of pressure."

New Zealand started the three-Test series against top-ranked India with few expecting an upset but they almost matched India's first-innings total of 487 and had them on the mat in their second innings at five down for only 15 runs.

However a placid track, injuries to two of their bowlers and some plucky batting by India's Harbhajan Singh (115) and Venkatsai Laxman (91) put paid to their hopes of pulling off a shocking win.

The Kiwis are placed at number eight in the official Test rankings.

"We are all excited by our show but we are not getting carried away," said Taylor who chipped in with two wickets in his unusual role as a bowler in India's second innings, besides scoring a handy 56.

"We were a little bit down after losing the one-day series in Bangladesh 4-0. We got slammed, justifiably so. We were not quite abused but we really copped a lot of criticism.

"A lot of our players used that as motivation. And the rest were fresh from a successful tour of Zimbabwe. I think the game of cricket goes in roundabouts.

"We have firmly put the Bangladesh outing behind us. We are now using the India trip to get back on track," said Taylor, who has scored 1,997 runs from 26 Tests at an average of 43.41.

The third and final Test will be played in Nagpur from November 20-24 followed by five one-day internationals from Nov 28.